


Pure

by chenmorr



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Love Triangles, Morally Grey Harry Potter, Morally Grey Hermione Granger, Most of the characters are morally grey, Multi, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), Slytherin Harry Potter, Slytherin Hermione Granger, Slytherins Being Slytherins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28528821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chenmorr/pseuds/chenmorr
Summary: She wanted power, and he had power. He wanted someone to worship him, and she was willing to. He was a terrible person, but she didn't care. She was just using him after all, just like he was using her. And as long as Hermione got what she wanted, she didn't care about how she got it.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson/Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

Hermione often wondered if it was her brilliance or ambition that landed her in Slytherin.

It wasn't a matter of concern, but as far as Hermione was conscious she was always an overachiever and perfectionist in all aspects of her life. She wanted to be the perfect student, the perfect daughter, the perfect friend.

She wasn't always like this. She remembered that earlier on in her life, she was the child at daycare who wanted to have the best finger painting, to impress the caretakers and other children with her brilliance. When they weren't impressed a feeling of resentment welled up in her, often causing strange things to happen such as the teacher getting a paper cut, or blue ink exploding all over the other children.

She was the only child of upper middle class dentists. She had all the validation she could ever have from her parents.

Yet, that wasn't enough. She was a spoiled child,but still charming, and by the time that she was twelve years old, she was a selfish pre-teen, yet her brilliance made her parents cherish her.

When she started elementary school, Hermione realized that school work was only one arena in which her brilliance could be but to good use.

She found out that school was as much of a social arena, as an academic one. She realized the most popular and well-liked students were not the ones who did well in school, but instead were the ones who were good at sports, the people with the extroverted personality, and the people who were good looking.

At the start of elementary school, she had none of those traits. Hermione hated sports and envisioned no future in which she would invest her time to become great at it. She wasn't extroverted, she actually hated talking to most people, and found vapid conversations useless and a waste of her time. She was conventionally good-looking, but by no means gorgeous enough to have people turn and look at her when she entered her presence.

By the time she received her letter from Hogwarts, she had one and a half of those traits.

She learned the art of charisma and realized that people have their own kingdoms behind their eyes, and that all she had to do was build upon their kingdoms or at least don't chip away at it by showing up their inferiority. She learnt that beauty and investing in her appearance was actually a good investment.

Of course, her intellect would always be her best trait and she spent most of her time investing in it, but she still had enough time to do all the other shallow things which will help her get ahead and what she wants from other people.

Despite all this, her first year at Hogwarts was disappointing.

She climbed the ranks of her prior school by mastering the art of charisma and beauty, and although she wasn't at the very top upon her departure, she did manage to create her own niche of good looking girls, who also did well in school and who weren't boring to talk to.

But Hermione realized early on, specifically through reading up on the wizarding world as much as possible, that her charisma and investment in beauty would probably not be enough.

The first time she read about the four houses she knew she wanted to be placed in Slytherin. That was where most of the children of the wizarding aristocrats families were and naturally that was where she wanted to be. It was a disappointment when she continued her reading and realized that her position of being a Muggle-born witch would heavily compromise her ability to fit in among the wizarding upper class, and hence her decision to not be overt with her heritage.

She wasn't going to lie and say she was from a pure-blood family, but she wasn't going to announce that she was Muggle-born either. The summer before her first year she read every book pertaining to pure blood culture that she could get her hands on. Her plan was to fit in so well, while also not being too visible, so that people would not be interested enough to even ask about her heritage.

It worked, but the price she had to pay was settling for second place after Draco Malfoy every year despite knowing she could easily get first place. However, beating Draco Malfoy would not be good for her invisibility.

Also, despite her easy acceptance into Slytherin, she didn't actually have any friends, only acquaintances. She wouldn't let anyone become too familiar with her because with familiarity comes questions, and invitations to summer villas and requests to meet parents. She could not risk it.

She found it ironic from time to time, that the whole reason she wanted to be in Slytherin was to rub shoulders with the wizarding elite, but now she couldn't properly allow herself to do so.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't until her vacation in Norway with her parents the summer after her fourth year that an opportunity presented itself.

It was natural for her to want to frequent book shops even during a vacation and her parents indulged her. So during their time in Oslo, Hermione roamed most of the bookstores in the city and quickly decided that her favorite was Gulliver Bookstore and Cafe.

A few days of the week when she didn't have plans of sightseeing with her parents she would leave their hostel and walk to Gulliver's. She usually picked out the books that she would like to read during her visit after ordering a beverage. She had a designated seat, or rather the seat in the corner that she decided that she liked the best.

Only today, there was a boy sitting in her seat. His head was looking down on a book, so Hermione could only see the crown on his head and the long black hair that obscured his face. As Hermione moved closer she saw that the book he leaned over was a journal of some sort as he wrote frantically in it.

Of course, she could have sat somewhere else but Hermione by extension felt that if she could ask the boy to move then she simply would not have to.

"Excuse, would you mind- " Hermione started in the Norwegian that she practiced before the trip and has been trying to perfect before she had to leave.

"Yes, I would." The boy interrupted before even taking the time to look up at her.

Hermione was initially taken aback by the stranger's rudeness, but instead of letting that deter her she intentionally slammed her books down on the table along with her beverage.

"Look-" She started again, but again he interrupted with an audible sigh, stopped scribbling in his notebook, and looked up at her. Hermione could now see his dark green eyes, behind his round specs.

"I sit here every day." Hermione continued. It was partially a lie, the truth was she sat there probably three days out of the week.

"So?" He refuted, as if he could not understand her line of argument.

She rolled her eyes. Despite her initial intent of preparing for a probable compromise, his rudeness was quickly making her rethink her decision.

He started at her in silence and she glared back. "You know what never mind." She splat. "Have a nice day." Her tone opposed those words clearly.

She cursed him in her head as she returned the books to the shelves. She was upset and did not like reading when she was upset. It did something to the tone of whatever she was reading.

She decided to take the day to do something else and exited the book store.

The next time she went to Gulliver's, her seat was empty. She rushed towards it and sat, sighing in comfort and relief. She took the first book from her sizable stack of books and began to engross herself in the story.

Sometime after, someone sank in the chair across from her. She looked from her book to see the boy, not looking at her but instead preparing to write in the black book of his.

Hermione cleared her throat and asked, "What are you doing?"

"What you should have done on the first day." He replied coolly.

"I don't like company while I am reading." She shot back.

"That makes the two of us." He replied, still not looking up to her. "I'm glad we have a mutual agreement."

Hermione scoffed but returned to her reading. She tried to forget that he was sitting across from her, but the sound of his pen was audible as he wrote.

Her eyes peered over her book to look over at him. He was leaned slightly over his book. His hand laid across one of the corners, seemingly holding the page down. That was when she saw the ring on his hand. The ring that she often saw on many of her housemates. It was a status ring. A ring that embedded the family crest of a pureblood family.

She tried to get a closer look at the ring without making it obvious that she had borne a newfound interest in him. She sat up in her chair and slid to the edge. She tried to stretch her neck slightly to see the crest in the ring, but could not.

As she tried to stretch more, her plan failed, and the boy looked up, looking at her suspiciously.

Hermione quickly settled into her seat.

The boy closed his book, seemingly preparing to leave or at least change seats.

She finally asked. "That's a nice ring."

He didn't even acknowledge her.

She was becoming annoyed. Maybe blatantly asking him was not the best idea.

Hermione turned her attention to his face, trying to recognize any resemblance to anyone. He had unruly dark hair and handsome features, but it wasn't until he ran his hand through his hair that Hermione realized who he was. The scar on his forehead gave it away.

Decorum gone, she leaned forward "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Every consecutive day, she would go to the café bookstore as she always did, but in addition, she would sit at the table, silently hoping that he would show up. And he mostly did.

She did most, if not all the talking.

She soon found out that the Boy-who-Lived wasn't the most socially warm person in the world, but neither was Hermione.

But soon enough, as he continually showed up everyday and sat across from her, Hermione began to assume that he secretly enjoyed her attention and interest in him.

She often asked him about basic things that did not encroach much on his personal life, but his answers were often short and frank with little to no elaboration. Hermione became used to it.

"Are you on summer holiday?" She asked him one day, although she knew it was a stupid question. The truth was she only asked it because she didn't want to ask about what she really wanted to know bluntly.

"Just ask." He responded, in his usual flat tone.

"Why did you get expelled?" She asked quickly.

It was no secret. It made headlines in the Wizarding world when the Boy-who-Lived got expelled from Durmstrang Institute.

"Didn't you read the headlines?" He questioned, then continued, "I apparently killed someone," as if we were talking about yet another mundane answer.

"I don't believe everything I read." She rebutted, and something changed slightly in Harry's countenance.

"If you actually killed someone, you would be in Azkaban. That's where they usually put murderers, right?" Hermione continued. She wasn't sure if there was a wizarding prison in Norway.

"Murdering and killing are two different things." His tone was low and it held a slight hesitation.

Hermione sighed and leaned back in her chair. She recalled reading about the story at school when it came out. It was inescapable since everybody, especially the Slytherins, some of who knew and grew up with Harry Potter, could not stop whispering about it.

It brought up memories of her school life before elementary school, the bullying that occurred before she changed. If she committed suicide because of her tormentors would it be them that killed her?

But the more malignant part of her took it as extra confirmation that she did the right thing by not disclosing her blood status, and just blending in.

"Do you regret what you did?" It was a strange way to ask the question when all she wanted to know was if he felt responsible for the boy who decided to end his life.

Harry didn't answer that question, and Hermione didn't know if that was a good sign or not. She assumed the latter but didn't want to push it.

Soon, the sun was going down on Hermione's last day in Oslo. The overcast weather in addition to this fact made Hermione's mood not great. She didn't know how Harry considered her after all the time they spent together, but Hermione surely considered him as a friend, although she didn't really have anybody to really share the exciting fact that she was friends with the Boy-who-Lived, well except for her parents who could not really understand why being friends with someone like Harry Potter was a big deal.

It was raining heavily and the café bookstore was closing. It would take Hermione about fifteen minutes to walk back to her hostel, and despite arguing to wait it out, Harry's request to wait at his hostel which was much closer surprised her but did not prevent her from accepting.

His hostel was small and shabby. It had creaking wood panels, but Hermione could not help but notice that it had a wonderful view of the waterfront. A lot of questions crossed her mind, she was sure he had the means to live somewhere better but here he was living apparently with no adult guidance.

She was his age, thirteen, and Hermione could not imagine her parents being alright with her being alone in a foreign country, after hearing news of her being expelled from school.

Hermione sat on a couch in the room, while Harry sat on the bed.

"Are you going to go home?" Hermione asked, trying to kill the silence between them, and satisfy at least one of the questions running through her mind.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe."

"Does Sirius know where you are?" She knew that she was overstepping, but she couldn't help it.

He didn't respond in the first few seconds, and Hermione began to worry that her overstepping would ruin all the grounds she made in the previous week and a half.

Harry nodded. "I'll go home eventually."

Silence again, but Harry stared intently at her, causing Hermione to feel nervous.

"You sure seem to know a lot about me." He spoke again.

A small smile graced Hermione's lip and she shrugged. "You are quite popular, especially at Hogwarts."

"What house are you in?" He asked.

Hermione was surprised at his newfound talkativeness, which was defined by him saying three complete sentences in less than a minute without being prodded by her incessant questions.

"Slytherin."

The rare look of amusement filled his face and he gave out a short audible laugh. "Are you being serious?"

"What?" Hermione raised her eyebrow. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." His tone was light. "I pegged you for a Ravenclaw since I did meet you in a bookstore, or maybe even Gryffindor since you have the tendency to lose all propriety when you don't get what you want."

Hermione glared at him, playfully. "Uhm, no. I don't know how I got into Slytherin but I did."

He continued to stare at her, and in an effort to escape his intense gaze, Hermione stood up from the couch. The floor creaked beneath her as she walked over to the small picture frames on the wall. She just wanted something to do. She stood observing the images probably for more time than she should. For so long that Harry came to stand beside her.

"What do you think it means?" She asked.

Although she didn't turn to look, she could imagine Harry shrugging like he often did as he answered her question. "It's a paddle in the water."

Hermione almost rolled her eyes. "I can see that, but why only show the paddle and not the boat."

Harry sighed. "Are you always this philosophical? You see why I thought you were a Ravenclaw?"

Hermione scoffed and began to turn to give her rebuttal but was startled by how close Harry was standing.

He didn't give her any time to recover from her shock, as he leaned down to put a short kiss on her lips, before pulling back, sharply.

Hermione recovered from the sudden nature of the kiss, faster than she expected and surprised Harry by stepping forward and placing a longer kiss on his lips. She lifted her arms to latch around his neck, and she could feel the presence of his arms around her waist.

Hermione didn't know how long the kiss lasted, but when it did, she realized that it stopped raining, although it was still dark and cloudy outside. It was night now and she knew she had to get home.

"I have to go." She whispered, arms still laced around his neck.

"Stay." He protested. "For the night."

Hermione laughed. She didn't know if his words held the connotation that she thought it did, but even if it didn't she couldn't stay.

She was leaving early tomorrow morning. Her parents would be concerned and although she liked him a lot, she wasn't naïve to think that anything that happens further tonight would be more than a summer fling. She didn't want to be that type of girl.

"I can't." Hermione apologized. "It's late. I should really go home."

Harry was disappointed, but pulled away and accepted her decision.

"I'll miss you." She said what she knew will be true. "Would you mind if I write to you?"

She swore she saw a small smile on his face. "No, I would actually like that." He admitted.

Hermione stayed for a few more minutes, giving Harry her last kiss, before going out in the wet, dark night.


	4. Chapter 4

She wrote multiple letters to him but he never responded. Hermione thought it was because in those letters she mostly talked about how she spent her day after she left and about books. Only a few questions.

It was almost time for school again, and Hermione prepared like she usually did by studying all the topics ahead. She went to Diagon Alley sooner than most of her schoolmates because she would rather not run into her schoolmates.

Any encounter with anyone would lead to just a small wave of acknowledgment if she knew the person but nothing more. No conversation about their summer so far or invites to catch up before the start of the school year. Not that she cared much about it but it somehow reminded Hermione that she didn't quite fit in at Hogwart or in the wizarding world at large.

She had no friends at Hogwarts. She had no friends who were wizards; she wasn't sure Harry Potter counted. Perhaps she had no friends at all. She tried not to ruminate on such things. After all this was what she wanted, it was better than the alternative. She rather not having the attention or interest from her peers than contempt and disdain.

Hermione has grown used to her solitude but the time she spent with Harry, despite him not being the most sociable person, made her realize that it was nice to spend time with someone her own age, who was also a wizard, someone like Harry Potter.

* * *

A response from Harry came a few weeks later. It said that he was back home. He also mentioned that Sirius was trying to get him enrolled in Hogwarts, but doubted that they would take him. He commented briefly on the books she mentioned in her letters. He told her to stop writing him such long letters, giving away major details about books he didn't read yet.

He ended with "Love, Harry" which caused Hermione to read the letter three times over before staring at the end.

"Love, Harry."

Love, Harry?

Perhaps it was the use of the word "Love".

Why "Love"? Why not Best Wishes or Sincerely?

Also, it wasn't "Harry Potter". Not "Harry". So personal.

She threw the letter on her desk. She wouldn't respond but not today.

* * *

Her letter to Harry was short.

_Hopefully they take you. It would be nice, attending the same school as you. Let me know when you get news._

_P.S. I hope this is considered a short letter._

_Love, Hermione._

She paused before writing the closing, thinking if she should mimic the closing of his last letter. She wrote the words fast before she could talk herself out of it.

He responded sooner than later.

_I'm happy you can follow instructions._

He was teasing her. Or at least she thought he was.

In her head, the sentence sounded like a typical Harry one in which he would say it in a sarcastic monotone way. She smiled.

_Sirius managed to pull some strings. So I guess I'll be seeing you in September._

_Harry._

No "Love" this time. But still Hermione held the short letter and read it over more than once.

It wasn't until two days before the start of school that he wrote her another letter saying " _Meet me in the last cart on the train_ ".

And so she did.

His head was down and he held an open book in his hand when she entered, but soon his eyes were on her.

"Hi" she smiled with a little wave.

He nodded his head, before going back to looking at the book.

Hermione couldn't help but be confused. After all he asked her to meet him. This was the first time in over a month that they saw each other and his greeting was cold. Her mind went back to the first letter that he wrote her, and how he ended it with "Love, Harry."

She tried her best not to be offended by his current demeanor. Yet she still closed the door of the cart and walked towards him.

She sat across from him and her eyes naturally went to the book he held in his hand. She couldn't hardly see the small printed words on the page, but it did not matter since the next second Harry slammed the book closed, laid it on the seat next to him and looked at her.

Hermione cleared her throat and spoke first, dreading an awkward silence between them. "How was the rest of your summer?"

"Boring" He responded promptly.

Hermione nodded not knowing how to reply to that, but she didn't have to because the next second the cart door opened with a bang causing her to jump.

At the door was Pansy Parkinson. Hermione couldn't recall having to talk to Parkinson beyond the realm of course work for all the years she was at Hogwarts. It was widely known that Parkinson had a tendency to be bitchy, but Hermione was lucky to never be on the receiving end of such behavior.

But at this moment, Hermione noticed the unsettling and mean look on her face, as if she was silently asking "Why are you even in here?" which reminded Hermione that the last cart of the train was usually where Parkinson and her friends, composed of Zabini, Malfoy, and sometimes Greengrass and Nott usually sat year after year.

Hermione cursed in her head and prepared herself for a conversation, which would most likely end with her appeasing Pansy and moving to another cart to escape the drama of getting on Parkinson's bitchy side.

But Parkinson's eyes were no longer on her, instead she was focused on Harry and her expression changed, actually fluctuated through so many different expressions that Hermione was both impressed and extremely intrigued.

She quickly looked between Parkinson and Harry, and Harry's face was blank as ever.

"Harry," Pansy talked first and although it seemed she aimed to make it a statement Hermione could still hear the question in her tone.

"Pansy," Harry replied, no question in his tone.

Pansy stared at him for a few more seconds before glaring over at Hermione. Hermione felt uneasy not knowing what to do in this situation.

Before Hermione could choose from the many choices in her mind, Pansy walked backward out of the cart before pushing the door shut as she walked away.

"Was there something I missed?" Hermione murmured.

Apparently, Harry heard her clearly because he sighed and then said, "It's complicated."

"Really?" Hermione voiced, as Harry's eyes met her own. "I am so confused. She flipped through about five different facial expressions in the few minutes she was here. She usually only has one."

Harry continued to stare at her but something in his expression changed. Maybe surprise, like he wasn't expecting her to be that observant.

He ended up shrugging before leaning back into his seat.

"You two know each other?" Hermione wasn't surprised, most of the purebloods in Slytherin were friends, even before they started Hogwarts.

Harry simply nodded.

"I couldn't tell if you two are on good or bad terms," Hermione commented, knowing that there was probably more that Harry wasn't disclosing.

"Probably both." He shrugged. "Leaning towards the bad side."

"Why would she-" Hermione didn't get to finish her question because the next second the door banged open and Hermione found herself annoyed before looking at the interrupter. Was this going to happen all through the ride to Hogwarts? Perhaps it would be best to convince Harry to change carts.

"So the rumors are true." Hermione heard the interrupter's voice before seeing him. "The Harry Potter has arrived at Hogwarts."

Hermione was still looking at Harry when Harry turned towards the door and it was the first time since she came in that she saw a shimmer of amusement in his expression.

Hermione turned to see Zabini lounging at the door. He looked expensive as he usually did, and they usually all did. Like Pansy, Hermione usually tried to stay clear from him, and it worked, since she could not recall ever having a conversation with him.

He walked into the cart, allowing the door to close behind him.

"Pansy is not happy." He mentioned in a lazy and teasing tone.

"When has she ever been," Harry replied clearly amused.

Zabini seemed to be in consideration for a moment before shrugging, " told me not to say anything to Draco, but he's bound to find out that you're here sooner than later."

Hermione looked over at Harry and noticed all the amusement wiped from his face.

It was not hard to pick up the tension that came up once Malfoy's name was mentioned, and it intrigued Hermione.

Zabini's gaze redirected at Hermione, and he tilted his head and stared at her as if he was trying to recall who she was, or perhaps it was just confusion of why she was here sitting across from Harry Potter.

Harry answered before Hermione could. "She's with me. You two are housemates, I heard?"

Hermione tried not to allow her brain to overthink the implications of Harry's former sentence.

"Ohh." Blaise said, as if it finally occurred to him who I was despite going to the same school and being in the same house for almost five years.

"Zabini," Hermione greeted, in her most nonchalant tone.

Blaise nodded once and returned his gaze to Harry. "Pansy pretty much sent me here to ask you to move."

The request was said in such an amused tone, that Hermione was not sure if Blaise was actually carrying out Pansy's request or just telling Harry what was going on.

Harry didn't reply.

"You know why." Blaise shrugged, which only extended Hermione's confusion.

"I'll have to see him sooner or later." Harry's voice was tense and low.

Blaise sighed heavily, pinching his nose. "This is not going to end well. But, it's your choice. Between you and me, I'm neutral in all this, just don't tell Draco I said that."

Harry smirked, before giving a nod.

"What's wrong?" Hermione spoke up, but Blaise didn't even spare her a glance and Harry just shook his head at her.

Heat filled Hermione's chest, her confusion quickly turning into annoyance. Why did he invite her to sit with him if he was going to be like this? Why even try to be friends with her if he was going to be cold and aloof.

To prevent cursing at either of them, she stood up promptly and exclaimed, "I'm going to the bathroom".

As she passed him, Blaise gave her a tentative smile that looked more patronizing than friendly. She rolled her eyes after she passed him and opened the cart door.


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione was staring in the bathroom mirror as it reflected, her hair was in its normal state, frizzy and a bit messy. She wasn't sure how long she stood there but apparently, it was long enough for Pansy to come in, stand beside her at the sink without Hermione noticing, and make the snide remark "Yes, you do look that bad" as she fixed her short bob.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked more out of confusion than indignation.

A cruel smile appeared on her face and she turned to Hermione and looked her up and down before scoffing and then turning to put a hair strand back in place. She turned and exited the bathroom without saying another word to Hermione or anyone else.

So, that was what it was like to get on Parkinson's bitchy side.

The only thing that concerned Hermione was that it only took being together in a cart with Harry Potter to cause what she managed to avoid for four whole years.

Hermione looked back into the mirror before reaching for her wand and murmuring a soft spell that fixed her hair instantaneously.

"You'll have to teach me that one." Hermione turned and noticed the girl beside her, two sinks down looking at her.

Her hair color immediately hinted to Hermione that she was Ron Weasley's younger sister.

Before Hermione could divulge her spell to the younger girl, she continued. "Don't mind her. Pansy's a bitch to everyone."

"So I've heard," Hermione replied.

"If you want to hit her where it hurts just mention that Malfoy still won't make her his girlfriend even after her blatant effort." She winked.

It wasn't as if Hermione didn't know about Pansy and Malfoy, it was just that like most social things at Hogwarts she thought it best to not care or be involved even to the point of keeping clear of gossip.

"You're Ron Weasley's sister?" Hermione asked.

The girl turned and nodded.

"Yes. Please, don't judge me based on my brother." She joked.

Hermione leaned against the sink and smiled. She could clearly tell that the younger Weasley was much less annoying and less daft than her brother who shared several classes with Hermione.

"Will do." Hermione replied. "See you around."

She slowly walked back to the cart but when she returned there were several students loitering outside the opened cart door trying to peer inside and from the voices inside Hermione could tell that there were more than two people inside.

Hermione paused, not knowing if she should even go back to the cart. She sighed and decided to walk forward.

She tried to force herself through the crowd outside the door with little avail but she managed to get close enough to see a portion of the cart inside the ajared door.

The conversation in the cart stopped and Hermione's face was just forward enough so that she could see the four people in the cart. Harry, Blaise, Pansy and Draco Malfoy.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked no one in particular. She would be more than happy to get an explanation from anyone, even from Parkinson.

No one in the crowd or outside of it answered Hermione's question, instead either whispering among themselves or keeping quiet as they stretched their head forward.

As three of the four moved out of the card, the crowd of students condensed as they moved to make way for them to pass. She naturally moved towards a side but as they passed, or specifically Malfoy passed he brushed her along with several other onlookers and Hermione caught a whiff of his scent that lingered in the air.

As Pansy followed, her shoulder either purposely or accidentally knocked Hermione in the chest.

Before the crowd even had the chance of dispersing, Hermione pushed forward towards the door, slamming it shut in the faces of the onlookers after she entered.

Harry was silent and made no move to sit back down.

"Can you at least explain to me what that was?"Hermione was still facing the shut door, murmuring a quick spell to lock the door.

"It's complicated." Harry was staring at her when she turned around.

Hermione crossed her arms and walked forward so that she was standing a few feet in front of him.

"We have time."

Hermione wasn't planning on not getting an explanation. If they were going to be friends, Harry had to at least give her a partial explanation for everything that happened in the past hour.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione sat in silence as Harry finished.

She wasn't sure how long she had been silent for but apparently it was long enough for Harry to be worried, because he suddenly requested, "Say something."

Hermione shook her head as if it would suddenly remove all the running thoughts in her head, before opening up her lips and sighing.

His hand moved towards hers and his fingers laying on top of hers was what suddenly silenced her thoughts.

"Ahm, Ok." Hermione cleared her throat.

He was looking at her expectantly, When she continued her silence, he just leaned back into his seat and exclaimed, "Just tell me I'm a horrible person."

"No." Hermione immediately replied, enjoying his fingers still brushing her hand. "I don't think that."

That was at least partially true.

She gave him a tentative smile as he continued to stare at her. "You're not like that now."

It was partially a question she hoped that he would reassure her in and partially her trying to convince herself that was the truth.

He gave a brisk nod.

"If we are to be friends, we'll have to trust each other." Hermione continued, brushing her hands against his fingers. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me more about you."

As they got closer to Hogwarts, they needed to change and although Harry offered to change somewhere else so that she might have the cart all to herself, Hermione proposed that if they gave each other the privacy they needed by looking away then that would not be needed.

Harry only lacked a tie when they were finished dressing and as Hermione adjusted her green one, she wondered which house Harry would be placed in.

"Do you have a preference for a house?" Hermione pushed her truck back under the seat with her feet before sitting down one again across from Harry.

"My parents and godfather were in Gryffindor," He explained. "I doubt that has anything to do with where I end up, though."

Hermione leaned forward. "If you tell the hat where you want to go, it'll put you there."

It wasn't a secret, but Hermione just wanted Harry to know, hoping that he would choose Slytherin, but only realizing that perhaps now that he knew that he had a choice, he would ask the hat to place him where his parents and godfather once was.

"What is the point of the hat then?"

Hermione shrugged. "From what I know, it gives suggestions, but eventually it does take where you want to go into deep consideration."

He nodded tersely.

A loud knock from the door startled both of them, but their response mirrored each other as they made no intentions of moving and just stared at the door. Since Hermione locked it, there have been continually sounds outside which Hermione could only assume were students still loitering outside.

"You're not even fully enrolled yet, and you are easily the most popular person at Hogwarts?" Hermione joked.

Harry gave her a small smile. "I'm more like famous."

Hermione laughed.

She wondered if it was like this for him at Durmstrang, but didn't ask.

It was only when the train was pulling into the station that it ultimately dawned on Hermione that her prior school life of obscurity would probably be no more, even if she attempted to keep it as such.

Her association with Harry Potter would not allow it. Even if she were to back out of whatever there is between Harry and her, it probably still would not get her back to her prior obscurity. She was now on Pansy Parkinson's radar and not in a good way, plus she was sure that the students who loitered outside their cart of majority of the train ride were gossiping about her as much as they were about Harry Potter.

Her prior life was gone, and only realizing it after it left, Hermione didn't know how to feel about the new change.

Nevertheless, she knew that she wasn't going to back out of whatever there was between her and Harry. Despite all that she leant about him since she met him, she enjoyed his company, and it soothe the loneliness that she did not care to admit to or acknowledge since she arrived at Hogwarts.

Perhaps this was the opportunity that she wanted, hoped for since she arrived in the wizarding world. Hermione recalled her initial reason for wanting to be placed in Slytherin; it was where most of the 'important people' were. The realization of her blood preventing her from being friends with any of those 'important people' was enough to push her to the opposite side of not making any friends at all in an attempt to hide her blood status.

Her and Harry never mentioned blood status. It was public knowledge that Harry's mother was a muggle-born witch. Hermione wasn't sure if Harry just assumed she was half-blood too. Hermione wasn't going to bring it up until it was necessary to.

As she followed beside Harry as they walked towards the carriages she hoped that event would be postponed to later rather than sooner.

Hermione and Harry climbed into an empty carriage and although there were students obviously looking at them, no one rushed for the other two vacant seats across from them.

Hagrid called out and walked over. "Harry, you sure you don't want to take the boat up?"

Harry was technically a new student despite being a 5th year student. Hermione remembered the experience of being on the boat her first year.

Harry looked over to the 1st years who were lining up to be placed on the boat, and shook his head. " No, thank you, Hagrid."

Hermione was partially surprised by his politeness to the giant, and as Hagrid just nodded his head and said "Ok, Harry,", Hermione realized that it was probably because they knew each other.

As Hagrid walked away, a student climbed into one of the seats across from them. It was dark but Hermione was able to outline the features of Theodore Nott. The second one was promptly occupied by Ginny Weasley, who smiled across at Hermione brightly.

Hermione tentatively smiled back, before looking away and noticing that both Harry and Nott were looking at the girl as if she just appeared out of thin air.

"Hi." Ginny waved to no one in particular.

Neither Harry, Theodore, or Hermione replied to the girl in any way.

Ginny looked at her expectantly, and Hermione hoped that she wasn't waiting for an introduction.

The awkwardness of the situation made Hermione look away and it was then that she saw that the carriage across from them consisted of Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass and Draco Malfoy.

As she watched Malfoy staring intensely at Harry, her mind wandered back to an earlier moment on the train.

Draco and I kind of grew up together. We all did, Blaise, Pansy.

Draco's really competitive. Even with his friends. Especially with me.

He didn't even like Pansy. He just wanted everything that I wanted.

I wanted to hurt him.

Perhaps he felt her eyes on him, because Malfoy then turned his gaze to her. As Hermione looked away, their carriage finally took off.


	7. Chapter 7

There was silence except for the sounds of the carriage movement, and the trees as they passed. The ride usually took less than ten minutes and Hermione was praying that the time would pass faster than normal to escape the awkwardness that filled the air.

Hermione looked over at Nott. It was dark enough to conceal his face. Hermione recalled all the times she saw him in the library or common room, often studying or reading. She never talked to him though.

Hermione and Ginny climbed out of the same side when the carriage reached, before Ginny used the same words that Hermione did earlier in the train restroom, "See you around."

Hermione nodded and looked back to Harry who was leaving the carriage on the opposite side.

She could see his lips moving as he said something to Nott but Hermione was too far away to hear, and the carriage masked the view preventing her from reading their body language.

When Harry moved around the carriage towards her, Hermione smiled at him, bearing her curiosity as much as possible. Perhaps, later she would bring it up and she could get him to hint at what was said between him and Nott, but not was not the time.

His hand went up gently to rest on her right arm, and the warmth that burned her skin under his light touch distracted her as he said, "I'll see you in there. I have to go with the first years."

Hermione nodded and the voice of Professor McGonagoll calling Harry's name both caused them to turn towards the entrance of the school.

They both walked in silence as McGonagoll watched them approach her.

"Miss. Granger." McGonagoll acknowledged her before reaching towards Harry's shoulder and directing him towards the side entrance.

Harry looked back at her as he was skirted away by the head of Gryffindor. She merely smiled, and crossed her arms around her, her fingers brushing the area that Harry's finger graced a few minutes earlier.

She hoped that he not only remembered but used what she told him on the train. Ask the Hat to put you in Slytherin.

It wasn't until the figure of Nott passed her, that Hermione made the move to walk.

He was a few feet in front of her and Hermione was more than happy slowly walking behind him until they got to the Great Hall which was usually noisy with the chatter of students catching up after the long summer.

Hermione did not have a designated seat at the Slytherin Table. She usually gravitated toward the least densely populated and if she had a choice areas not occupied by people in her year. It was easier to be pulled into conversations if she followed those two rules, but as she approached she felt the eyes of people not only in Slytherin but also in other houses looking at her.

Her worrying thoughts from the train were manifesting itself. She was no longer under the radar.

As she sat down next to some fourth and third year (she could not tell the difference), and pulled out the book that she tucked in her pocket on the train, hoping that sticking her nose in a book was a clear enough sign not to talk to her.

Hermione heard the conversation around her quiet down in the first few seconds of her sitting down, and a clear 'That's her' was followed by a building crescendo of murmurs and whispers. That didn't bother her, they could talk about her as much as they life, if they simply didn't try to talk to her.

It wasn't until she heard the phrase, "Must be an interesting book" from someone sitting across the table that Hermione's heart rate started to rise.

It was unclear if the person was addressing her or talking to someone else, but Hermione chose to believe that it was the latter, even if it was most likely not. She continued to read, despite not being able to digest any of the sentences that she read since she sat down.

Hermione clearly heard a scoff, and waited a few seconds to peek up from her book, hoping to get a hint of who was sitting across from her without directly looking at them.

Hermione was absolutely sure that Theodore Nott was not sitting at the seat across from her when she sat down, but he was now and his dark blue eyes were peering at her. Yes, Nott was definitely addressing her.

Hermione's eyes moved back to her book.

"I didn't know you were friends with Harry Potter." She heard his voice.

"I didn't know you were friends with Harry Potter." She muttered more to herself but she was half-sure that he heard it. But maybe not, because Nott didn't say anything else to continue the one-sided conversation.

Hermione reached for food in between reading, and ignored most of the Sorting Ceremony. It wasn't until Professor McGonagoll announced the name "Harry Potter" that she slowly lifted her head from the book and turned towards the front.

The Great Hall was quieter than normal, as Harry moved towards the stool with confidence. The hat covered the top quarter of his face allowing Hermione to see that Harry's mouth was moving in conversation, most likely with the Sorting Hat.

Hermione tried her best to hide her smile, as she waited along with everyone one else in the Great Hall to see which House Harry Potter would belong to.

As the Sorting Hat announced "Slytherin" there was an extension of silence for a few more seconds before the Slytherin table erupted in cheers.

Hermione peeked over towards Nott to see that he was smirking, and the contrast of Malfoy's reaction drew Hermione's eyes further down the table were Malfoy seem to be visible angry, while Parkinson's beside him tentatively glance at him between saying something to Zabini who wore a smirk akin to Nott's.

This was interesting to Hermione, and Hermione looked directly at Nott as he smiled at her without saying anything, as if there was something that he thought he knew, that she didn't, that this was interesting to him too.

It wasn't until a warm hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Harry standing over and telling her to move over that her eyes moved away from Nott.

She scooted over to host Harry beside her, and the people who surrounded them were now looking at Harry without even trying to hide the fact that they were.

Harry just reached for food filling his plate, ignoring all the glances and whispers around him. Hermione was sure that a person like him was used to such a response to his presence, people like him, Nott, Malfoy and the rest of the pureblood aristocracy were built for the spotlight and so they were comfortable in it. She was not.

It wasn't too long until students sitting close by were trying to start conversations with Harry, which was rudely ignored by Harry as he ate.

Hermione was amused but found really hard to hide her expression, Theo did not.

People know better than to try to talk to Nott, so instead they tried to talk to her, and at first it was easy to feign ignorance that they were addressing her, like she did earlier with Nott, but soon a 4th year girl sitting next to Theo bluntly asked, "Granger, is it? That's a unique name."

Hermione glanced at the girl, but did not respond.

"Is your father a Muggle-born?" She continued, causing Hermione to momentarily stop chewing her food, and stare at the girl who had large, round eyes filled with curiosity.

Before Hermione could finish eating the food in her mouth, or decide if she will continue to ignore the questions posed to her, Harry without looking at the girl spoke up, "I don't see how that is any of your business."

The girl cheeked turned red, but she retorted, "I was just curious", while she shrugged her shoulders and looked at Hermione expectantly.

Hermione felt the food in her stomach threatening to come back up, and she knew that if she didn't get a grip on herself she would either throw up her entire meal there or have to run out of the hall towards the closest bathroom. Either options would send the wrong message.

However, there was no way on Merlin's beard that she was going to announce the truth of her heritage. She was simply deciding which one of the lies in her head to go with, that would be more believable, that would be easiest to maintain, at least until she graduated and hopefully for the rest of her life in the Wizarding world. Hermione naturally have thought about this situation before, the situation of the questioning of her heritage, she have went through multiple simulations in her head over the years and came up with solutions for each but now reality was nothing like the situations in the head and as Hermione realize that her delay was making it worst and the lie prepare it self on her lips, Harry spoke again, this time staring down the 4th year female.

"Yes." was all he said, before he continued, "Just like my mother was Muggle-born."

She looked towards Hermione and nodded, not even asking Hermione to verify what Harry just said. The curiosity disappeared from her eyes and was replaced by something else. "Oh, me too."

Hermione gave her an ingenuine smile, before looking over at Harry.

She smiled at him, completely genuine this time. She didn't know if he said what he assumed was the truth or lied on her behalf. It didn't matter, she was happy he did.


End file.
